Help me learn to trust?

[Madhuri]

How can I learn to have faith while I’m in a situation where I am hurting and I can’t see any way forward?

I would like to be the kind of person who really believes that God will take care of me. I thought I used to be, but I’m going through something painful and confusing right now, I don’t see any worldly way to fix any of it and it really has me shaken. If you can talk me into facing uncertainty with real faith, or any other advice (from any tradition) to get me out of this doubt, I would deeply appreciate it.

As it stands right now, I keep reading New Thought and only managing to half apply it, which is it’s own problem because my inconsistent thinking can be a source of stress in itself. Sometimes I have my thoughts in order, and that might be why my situation is not completely hopeless, but it’s been going on a long time and when I get tired or something happens, I see “problem”, as if it’s all on little me to find a way to fix it and I can’t. I don’t want to worry anymore.

[Native spirit]

We all go through tough times in our lives and yes it can make you question everything.
You feel lost in your own world with no one to guide you. does it seem similar?
Always remember The Angels will help you but you have to Ask them,
They can put signs in your way to guide you.
Always remember you are not going through this Alone.


Namaste

[Madhuri]

Originally Posted by Native spirit

Always remember you are not going through this Alone.

This is such a lovely thing to say, I really do need to hear it, thank you!

I think you are right. I ask, but it’s the “ask, believing you have received” that gets me. I think I would be a happier person for the rest of my life if I could ask and then, every time, assume that the prayer has been heard and that there must be things going on that will work out everything for the best, even in situations where we can’t see how it will happen.

I have a few quotes written out on post-its on my wall, there’s one by Florence Scovel Shinn which says,
“Infinite Spirit,
reveal to me the way;
let me know if there is anything for me to do.”

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by Madhuri

...I don’t see any worldly way to fix any of it and it really has me shaken....Sometimes I have my thoughts in order, and that might be why my situation is not completely hopeless, but it’s been going on a long time and when I get tired or something happens, I see “problem”, as if it’s all on little me to find a way to fix it and I can’t. I don’t want to worry anymore.

Some good advice from Native spirit.

You do not say exactly what your situation is, but we all go through times of testing and being lost and confused. This is our learning or, as it is called in some teachings, the burning ground. This is a point of crisis, a time of purification, a time of letting go of things which no longer serve us. It is usually followed by a major step forward. But in order to advance we have to let go of whatever is holding us back, and this can be a difficult and painful process.

When all else fails, surrender the entire situation to God or your Higher Self. You have done all you can to try to fix this, and maybe it is time to hand it over to a higher power. Then try to live one day at a time, with faith that there will be light at the end of the tunnel.

Peace

[Native spirit]

Good Advice from iamthat


Namaste

[Madhuri]

Originally Posted by iamthat

Then try to live one day at a time, with faith that there will be light at the end of the tunnel.

I keep trying to think how to explain it, but details are probably not helpful or appropriate for this conversation. Short version - I recently learned that someone I love very much is being abused in ways I didn’t know could be possible. I’ve seen a side of human cruelty that I couldn’t have imagined existed, my efforts to help seem to make things worse, and certain details about this situation mean there doesn’t seem to be anywhere to turn for help.

I wanted to explain that much, because sometimes this New Though stuff can sound a lot like being in denial. There’s nothing I want more than to come back here and tell this story again with a happy ending.

Pray for me that I learn these lessons the first time? I don’t ever want to go through this again. I can’t go back to the way I used to be, and I don’t want bitterness to change me for the worse.

Walter Lanyon used this metaphor about how, if you have your eyes on the light at the end of the tunnel, you don’t go along feeling like you have to clean the filth off the tunnel walls as they go by.

[iamthat]

Originally Posted by Madhuri

Short version - I recently learned that someone I love very much is being abused in ways I didn’t know could be possible. I’ve seen a side of human cruelty that I couldn’t have imagined existed, my efforts to help seem to make things worse, and certain details about this situation mean there doesn’t seem to be anywhere to turn for help. I wanted to explain that much, because sometimes this New Though stuff can sound a lot like being in denial.

Ah, this gives a different slant on things. You are suffering not because of your own situation but because of another person's situation.

You say there is nowhere to turn to for help. Presumably this other person is an adult. You do not give your location, but if it were a child then in many countries you could involve social services or the police.

If this other person is an adult in an abusive situation then they may be undergoing their own learning experience. When and how will they find the courage to end the abuse? But I realise that there are often complications which make it difficult for someone to leave an abusive situation.

And if you believe in pre-birth Soul contracts then this person might have agreed to be in this situation with his or her abuser to learn from the experience. But that does not mean that the experience cannot be ended.

New Thought affirmations can sound like denial, as you say. Declaring that life is wonderful when life is actually rather terrible is unlikely to succeed because the affirmer will probably mentally contradict any such affirmations.

You could use the power of visualisation, intention and gratitude to see a speedy and happy resolution to this situation. But it is complicated by the fact that this is actually someone else's situation and their learning process.

Another approach is using ho'oponopono, which can be very successful. Plenty of information online - look for Dr Hew Len. A very interesting story of how he cured everyone in a ward for the criminally insane in a Hawaiian State hospital without seeing any of these patients.

The basic principle of ho'oponopono is that we are responsible for every stressful situation which we have attracted into our lives. So you have attracted this situation which is causing you stress, even though the situation involves other people. Therefore you need to seek forgiveness for whatever you might have done which has brought this situation into your life. It all comes down to the power of forgiveness. Then the situation naturally resolves itself.

Which may sound quite far out, but if nothing else you have tried is working then it may be worth finding out more about ho'oponopono.

Peace

[thecatsmeow]

Originally Posted by Madhuri

Short version - I recently learned that someone I love very much is being abused in ways I didn’t know could be possible. I’ve seen a side of human cruelty that I couldn’t have imagined existed, my efforts to help seem to make things worse, and certain details about this situation mean there doesn’t seem to be anywhere to turn for help.

You could take a leaf out of Neville Goddards book and imagine the person you're concerned about to be happy and fulfilled. Manifestation of your imagination often works where nothing else will.

[kris]

"Help me learn to trust?"

Who or what do you want to trust?

Here is what I trust. I think all that happens in the universe happens because of its inevitability. I am saying this because the universe does not do anything on a whim. Rather, its functioning is based on its fundamental laws.

Hence if you desire a certain outcome, you must make that outcome inevitable. I am speaking in generalities. In practice, what one needs to do to make a certain outcome inevitable depends on what you desire and the state of the universe at the time. But one also needs to know the laws on which the universe operates in order to choose the right action or actions to make desired outcome inevitable!

[Madhuri]

Originally Posted by kris

Who or what do you want to trust?

I think what I really want to be able to trust is the unknown. I want to believe that good will win, and that doing the right thing means something. But what causes me to worry is the way I feel like I have to be able see how the outcome I want is possible, or that it’s on me to do something to make it happen.

I like the thought that I get to decide what’s inevitable. I think I can be trusted with that responsibility